The chart above shows the per capita GDP and change in per capita GDP over the last year in US regions. The Northeast may have the highest per capita GDP but last year it has had the lowest growth rate in the metric allowing all other regions to catch up to it.
Findings
- The difference between the region with the greatest absolute growth in per capita GDP, the West, and the region with the least, the Midwest, is $994.72.
- The West has 2.33 times the per capita absolute economic growth that the Midwest does in the past year.
- The difference between the region with the greatest growth rate in per capita GDP, the West, and the region with the least, the Northeast, is 1.65 percentage points.
- The West has 2.19 times the per capita economic growth rate that the Northeast does in the past year.
Caveats
- All percentages are rounded to the nearest hundredth.
- The Northeastern US consists of New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Maryland, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Delaware, Maine, Rhode Island, and Vermont.
- The Western US consists of California, Washington, Colorado, Arizona, Oregon, Utah, Nevada, New Mexico, Hawaii, Idaho, Alaska, Montana, and Wyoming.
- The Midwestern US consists of Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Missouri, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota.
- The Southern US consists of Texas, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, Louisiana, South Carolina, Alabama, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Mississippi, and West Virginia.
Details
The Northeast passed the $60,000 mark but the West is rapidly approaching the leading region while the Midwest surpassed $50,000 but with the South hot on its tail.
All four regions had states whose per capita GDP contracted in the past year. Nebraska, South Dakota, and Kansas all saw a drop in per capita GDP in the Midwest. The Northeast, the West, and the South each had one state witness a drop in per capita GDP: Connecticut, Montana, and Louisiana, respectively.
Sources
United States Census Bureau. "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2016." Accessed December 12, 2017. http://factfinder2.census.gov.
US Department of Commerce. 2018. "US Bureau of Economic Analysis." Accessed June 26, 2018. https://bea.gov/itable/iTable.cfm?ReqID=70&step=1#reqid=70&step=10&isuri=1&7003=1000&7035=-1&7004=naics&7005=1&7006=01000,02000,04000,05000,06000,08000,09000,10000,11000,12000,13000,15000,16000,17000,18000,19000,20000,21000,22000,23000,24000,25000,26000,27000,28000,29000,30000,31000,32000,33000,34000,35000,36000,37000,38000,39000,40000,41000,42000,44000,45000,46000,47000,48000,49000,50000,51000,53000,54000,55000,56000&7036=-1&7001=11000&7002=1&7090=70&7007=2017,2016,2015,2014,2013,2012,2011,2010,2009,2008,2007,2006&7093=levels.